


Every Second

by wildflower_murals (orphan_account)



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/F, Galactic War AU, Nurses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-07-14 21:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7191431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/wildflower_murals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben doesn't like war. But he likes Leslie Knope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Second

**Christmas Eve 2012**

"Merry Christmas, Ben."

Ben's standing in the crowd of soldiers, most of whom are very drunk and dancing, but Ben is not. Chris, his partner, pats his shoulder and smiles at a friend across the room. General Ron Swanson stands on the stage with his saxophone, which is decorated with ribbon and twinkling lights, serenading the men with his own version of "White Christmas." Andy, a new recruit, stands beside Chris, humming a unfamiliar tune.

Ben forces a smile. "You too, man."

Chris notices Ben's bored look and punches his shoulder a little bit more aggressively than Ben would of liked. He winced. "Ow!"

"Come on Ben! It's Christmas Eve! Go have some fun!" Chris exclaims.

"I don't know what would constitute as  _fun_ here, Chris. Do you want me to blow up the building? I'm sure that would get everyone's adrenaline up a bit." Ben deadpans, waiting for Chris' reaction. He expects Chris to punch his shoulder again or say something about the spirit of Christmas or to be proud of what you've done for this country, something like that. Instead, Ben finds Chris sobbing as Ron continues to play "White Christmas." Ben lightly touches the man's shoulder, hoping to console him. "Hey, Chris. It's ok." Chris turns around, his eyes bloodshot. "What if I never see her again?", Chris chokes out, and starts sobbing again. Ben assumes Chris is referring to his fiancé, Ann Perkins, a nurse in Indiana. "I-I'm sure you will, buddy." Chris gives him a weak smile and runs to the dance floor, showing off some of the weirdest dance moves Ben has ever seen.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Andy, the recruit, is standing beside him, chuckling. Ben really doesn't know what to say to that. Some of the men Ben's  met in his year in the army have been strange, but Andy is is nothing compared to them. Ben mumbles a "Yeah, sure," and heads out the door for some silence.

The cold night air slips under Ben's uniform, but he doesn't care. The stars twinkle over him and Ben wishes he was back home in Minnesota, skiing with his brother Henry, or even in Indiana, with Chris and Ann, if the two of them made it home. Ben just wants to be with somebody. Somebody that can make him feel less alone. Ben's thinking about all that, when suddenly he hears screaming and looks behind him. A fire is raging inside the building, and Ben can faintly hear "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" coming from Ron's saxophone. He rushes inside, avoiding falling embers and burned wood, trying to find Chris. The smoke is overwhelming, and Ben can barely see. He hears voices around him, some yelling "Intruder!", others whispering for their families. Ben keeps trekking inside, yelling for Chris and Andy and Ron. Ben can still hear Ron playing and knows that Chris was near the stage. He spies Ron playing, and the general gives him a salute and continues with his song, only pausing to tell Ben, "A man must serve his country, even if it means dying for it." Ben purses his lips, nods, and continues with the search.

He finally finds Chris in the middle of the room, passed out. Ben quickly picks the man up and runs, sensing that the buildings roof is about to give in. As Ben runs towards the exit, Chris wakes up, giving his partner a faint smile. Ben just has time to smile back and throw Chris through the door as a brick wall comes down on his shoulder. Overcome with pain, Ben passes out.

**Three Days Later - Pawnee Saint Joseph Hospital**

"Does he need more antibiotics?"

Ben blinks at the sound. The world is fuzzy around him, and the entire right side of his body throbs with pain. Ben looks down and sees a bandage around his chest and right arm. He tries to sit up, but his vision is still off, so he can't see well. A loud beeping sound goes off, and a head of blond curls, a nurse Ben assumes, rushes to his bed and whispers for him to "Go to sleep," and the world goes dark again.

"He's improving." 

"Good." 

**A Day Later**

Ben's doing better. Chris came to visit, along with Ann, who is a nurse at the hospital. Pawnee Saint Joseph, Ann tells him.

"Ben, I'm glad you're doing better!" Chris said, his voice laced with excitement. Ann sighs and wraps an arm around her fiancé. She's pretty, with dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and striking blue eyes. Her nurse outfit fits her in all the right places, and Ben can see why Chris likes her. 

"Thanks," Ben says wincing. He doesn't mean to sound ungrateful, but....well, everything kind of hurts right now. Ann must have sensed that, because she forces Chris to say goodbye and quickly ushers him out of the room. Ben can see Ann talking to another nurse, a pretty blond, through the glass in the door. Ben remembers seeing the same nurse when he woke up, or at least he thought it was the same woman. Ben continues to watch them. Their happy smiles soon turn to worries, and for an instant, the blonde glances at him. Ben turns away, embarrassed. The nurses concerned faces don't make Ben feel any better. He wished he wasn't so lonely or in pain.

That night, Ben dreams of the fire. He's in the flames, trying to find Chris, when he comes across Ron's saxophone, burnt and mangled. Ben spots Chris across the room, when suddenly the roof caves in, crushing Ben. Ben wakes up sweaty, screaming, and in pain. A nurse is quietly patting him, checking his vital signs, and telling him to go back to sleep. She smells like cinnamon, and he likes it. Ben can't see her face, but he thinks she's the same nurse who was taking to Ann. The same nurse who was there when he woke up yesterday. Ben wants to ask if it's really her, but the blonde is already gone.

The next day, Henry comes to visit. "Hey, little brother!" He exclaims as Ann lets him in.

"Hey Henry." Ben says. He's happy to have family here, even if Henry is a little annoying.

Henry helps himself to a chair and continues talking. "So are you like, a war hero or something?"

Ben rolls his eyes. "Um, no. I just saved one guy." He expects the conversation to stop there, but Henry wants to know more, apparently.

"So now that you're in the hospital, who's gonna take care of your injured ass?"

"Um, nurses, obviously."

Henry's face lights up and he smiles. "Ohhhh. Any nurses here you wanna bang? That brunette is pretty hot, you think you have a chance with her?"

Ben's head falls into his hands and he sighs. "God, no. That brunette is  _engaged,_ Henry. To one of my friends."

Henry winces. "Ouch. You'll get her next time, bro. Nurses are always the best."

"Please just get out."

Henry raises his hands, defeated. "Ok, ok. But call me if you bang anyone here. That would be a great story to tell."

"Sure." Ben says, sarcastically.

Throughout the day, Ben continues to get his vitals checked, bandages changed, and medicine taken. He's not in that much pain anymore, but Ben's still frightened by the bandages. He's looking at them when Ann comes in with a binder. 

"Hi Ben."

"Hey Ann."

The nurse sits down. "I want to talk to you about your injuries and a few other things."

Ben swallows. He's been wanting to know about his injuries since he woke up. "Um, ok."

Ann takes a deep breath. "Ok, so, when the wall came down on you, it broke your arm, very badly. We've managed to mend it, but to fix it completely you would need surgery."

"Ok."

"Next, your shoulder. We've fixed that with surgery, so that looks good so far."

"Uh-huh."

"Your ribs broke during the fall, and we still need to fix those. You might have noticed that you've had trouble breathing, it's because of that."

"Yeah." Ben has had trouble breathing. That explains why.

Ann pauses and takes another deep breath. Tears are shining in her eyes. "Lastly, your legs. When the wall fell, it broke both your legs."

"Oh."

"We assume when they heal, you will still be able to walk. It will take about two to  three months for them to heal, and then you need to learn to walk again."

Ben nodded. Ann breaks down and cries. "I'm sorry for crying, but you saved him, Ben. Chris could have died and you risked your life to s-save him." The nurse continues to cry and Ben wishes he could do anything but watch. He wants to help.

After a few minutes Ann regains her composure and continues. "Anyway, after you get home you will need help. A nurse will help you. And since I'm taking a few days off to be with Chris, my friend and other nurse Leslie has offered to care for you here and when you get home."

"Oh, ok. But-"

"Ann, hey!" A blonde woman rushes into the room, holding a binder like Ann's and dressed in her scrubs, looking frazzled. Ben recognizes her from yesterday, and when he woke up. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt? I had a emergency, a guy came in with the most terrible cut on his hand, kitchen knife I think he said, oh god there was blood everywhere...." She trails off when she realizes Ben is staring at her. "Anyway, who-who are you?"

"Um, I'm Ben Wyatt."

"Hi Ben. I'm Leslie Knope. I would shake your hand, but there's risk of infection and um," Her eyes travel down to his arm, still in a cast. "Yeah. I'll be your nurse."

"Great!" Ann says, cheerily. "I'll leave you two so you can get acquainted, since Ben, she'll be your caretaker for quite a while. Ok? Bye!" 

Leslie and Ben watch Ann leave, and Leslie's focus turns back to him. "Well, Ben, I'm Nurse Leslie, but you can just call me Leslie."

Ben nodded as Leslie starts to check his vital signs. "Great. Not to be rude or anything, but have I seen you before?"

"What do you mean?"

"Were you here when I woke up last night?"

Leslie face lights up and she smiles."Oh! Yes, I was. Ann was supposed to be here, but I filled in for her because she said, and I quote,  she was 'leaving for a romantic night with Chris.'"

Ben wrinkles his nose. "Ew."

Leslie nods. "Yeah. Hey, you're the guy who saved him, right?"

"Uh, yeah." 

Leslie gives him a soft smile and pats his uninjured arm. "Good for you, Ben."

Ben smiles back.

"Crap on a cracker." Leslie suddenly says, looking down at her watch.

"What?" 

"It's nothing. I'll see you later, Wyatt. Don't do anything stupid when I'm gone!"

Those were the longest hours of Ben's  life. Different nurses came to check on him, but they worked quickly and said almost nothing. Ben watches CNN, longing for a Star Wars marathon or a computer so he could continue his Star Trek fanfic. He's still watching the news when Leslie walks into his room again. "Hi!" The nurse says brightly."I brought you some ice chips to suck on and a water bottle."

"Thanks." Ben says as Leslie sets the items down on a tray and sits across from him. "So, do I grab the ice chips or do you?" Well, this was going to be an awkward couple of months.

"I do," Leslie confirms, grabbing the chips and a plastic spoon.

"Ok then." Ben says, turning red.

"Ben, this isn't embarrassing." Leslie reminds him as she gently lifts a small ice chip near his mouth. "I do it all the time." She says, laughing.

It's not that it was embarrassing to Ben, it's not. Being treated like you're handicapped is. And besides, a faint touch from a nurse could make him half hard these days. Also, Ben didn't want to believe it, but Henry was right. A lot of the nurses here _were_ pretty cute.

By the time Ben was done with ice chips, his embarrassment was gone. And when Leslie squeezed his hand and said, "You're really brave, Ben," he knew this was going to be an interesting couple of months, for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this fic so far! Comments and kudos make my day xx
> 
>  
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not know anything about hospitals and their rules. This is purely for reader enjoyment. (and so I can follow my storyline)


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